Beauty of Battle
by Drakai
Summary: The eldest child of Aphrodite still in the camp, self-tasked with keeping order in his rather large family, yet not knowing the identity of his father, and not being able to see the beauty of the world with his own eyes. It really isn't easy being Naruto Namikaze.
1. Chapter 1

Percy Jackson gulped, staring at the giant horned monster that was thumping its left leg against the floor, getting ready to charge. His best friend (and apparent 'protector', whatever the hell that was) was down and out, so he couldn't rely on him, and his mother… Oh lord, he hoped she wasn't dead.

But that could wait. He had to focus now, as hard as that was for him, or he'd get run through. He did wonder what that would feel like, though. Probably painful.

The bull-headed (hehe) monster snorted hot air out of its nostrils and charged. Percy cringed and tried to swing at it, but it swatted him away like a fly, and right into a tree.

The Minotaur (because that was probably what the monster was, he thought dazed; that or an iguana) grinned with its snout and stomped slowly towards the semi-conscious boy, intending to finish him off.

However, luckily enough, something managed to stop the Minotaur before it could shish kebab the kid. It was a man. Or at least an elder teen, dressed in a very clean white shirt with a black Pegasus on the back, and white slacks. He had no shoes, although he wore some kind of foot wrapping that left his heel and toes exposed. There was also a long strip of white cloth tied around his head, billowing in the wind. In his hand, and completing the ensemble, was a strange, curved shortsword (a kopis, specifically; but Percy didn't know that, of course). Said sword was pointed at the Minotaur.

"Hold, creature." His voice was strong, but that was about as far as Percy got before the darkness completely overtook him. "You are not welcome at this camp. Away with you."

The creature snarled at the man and charged, intending to tear him apart if need be, to get to his true target. But the white-dressed man, with a swift strike of his sword, unbalanced the Minotaur and sent it tumbling to the side. And with another equally swift strike the beast's head was cut clean off, dissolving it into golden mist.

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The next day the same man from before was sitting at a table in the so-called Big House when Percy was walked there by another camper called Annabeth Chase, he had met a few hours before.

"What do you think, my friend?" Mr. Brunner was on the other side of the table, facing the two young campers.

"That this is a mere signal of things to come. It was obvious the two had stumbled on the tail end of the conversation. "But who can safely say that, I wonder?"

"Only the Fates and the Oracle." A third, short and fat man in a Hawaiian shirt added.

"Perhaps not even them. I fear a great fog will cloud their vision. Perhaps even their judgment."

"Be careful, boy. They do not take kindly to such disrespect." The area around the fat man seemed to turn imposing. Even Percy could feel it from outside the rom. The other man seemed to be unaffected.

"They do not control me. Not anymore. Not after that day. But we should put our discussions on hold, we have visitors."

"Yes, indeed. Come in Percy, Annabeth." The two kids walked inside the room. "Now Percy, I'm sure Annabeth already filled you in on the camp, yes?"

"I still don't believe it."

"So typical." The fat man snorted. "Tell me, Perry, was it perhaps just a mirage that attacked you last night?"

"Mr. D, that's quite enough. The boy's had a difficult day." The other man snorted into his can of diet coke. "And where is Grover? I thought he would be here by now."

"Outside, roughly half a mile east, trying to chat up some dryads." The blonde-haired man, Percy now noticed, muttered."

"Is he? I wish him the best of luck, then. His hearing is later today."

"Whoa, wait, what hearing?" The three men exchanged glances, or at least they seemed to.

"You see, Percy." Mr. Brunner, as one closest to the boy, was unanimously selected to speak. "Grover was supposed to be your protector, to keep you safe from harm. And in that task he failed."

"But… he'll get a second chance, right?"

"Percy…" Annabeth sighed sadly. "That was his second chance."

"Indeed, so young Grover will be appearing before the Council of Cloven Elders, to decide whether he will be getting his Searcher license."

"Something I doubt they will give him, since he did fail." The fat man muttered. "Again."

"But he didn't fail. I'm right here, safe and sound."

"That would be my doing." The blonde commented.

"And on that note, it's time for introductions. Me you already know, Percy, but my real name is Chiron. I am the camp activities director here at Camp Half-blood. To my left is the director of the camp, Mr. D. and sitting across me is Naruto Namikaze, a camper here, and the one who saved you last night."

The blonde stood and turned around, regarding the newest member of the camp with a curious gaze. At least, that was what Percy would imagine it, because, underneath his spiky yellow bangs, and above his slashed cheeks, the stripe of white cloth with a black flower petal design was tied securely over his eyes.

"Are you blind?" Percy blurted out, earning a face-palm from his female companion, and amused stares from the two older men.

"I lack sight as much as you lack tact, Mr. Jackson." Naruto deadpanned, causing Percy to chuckle sheepishly. "And now if you'll excuse me, we have been cooped up here all night, and I must tend to this as soon as possible." He lifted a horn in his left hand and walked away, miraculously not hitting anything.

"Is he really a camper?" Percy asked, watching the blonde walk away with a mixture of emotions on his face.

"Yes, he is. And pitying or underestimating him is probably the worst thing you can do. He is not the councilor for Cabin 10 for nothing. Now, young Percy, let us continue on with your questions."

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"Yes, Clarisse?" Naruto stood in front of the great hearth in the camp, while a tall, slightly muscled girl stood behind him. She was pretty, in a tomboyish sort of way, with her hazel hair tied in a loose ponytail, wearing the customary bronze cuirass.

"How do you always do that?"

"Practice."

"That's your answer for everything." The blonde chuckled. "I met the new meat."

"Oh? And how did that go?" She grumbled. "Not too well, then. If you are interested in a spar, you'll have to wait for a while."

"What, too busy to come play with me?"

"Something like that. I am sending a gift to my mother. It won't take more than an hour."

"Is that… its horn?"

"Yes. Why, is it not fitting?"

"Why don't you keep it? As a trophy?"

"I am not a hunter, Clarisse. What use have I of trophies? To gaze at them, remembering the kill?" She shifted uncomfortably.

"I didn't mean…"

"I know you didn't. Just a little joke at my expense. Now, if you would?"

"Yeah, sure. Be at the training grounds in one hour. If you're late, I'll hunt you down myself." She turned and left.

"Ah, I can never remember how this goes." Naruto turned to the fire, putting his hand holding the horn in it.

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On Mount Olympus, in the temple of one of the major goddesses, there was a fight going on.

"Listen to me, Ares. My son is trying to send me a message, and I will not have you here trying to distract me." Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, angrily told her boyfriend.

"I don't care if the brat's calling. I'm horny."

"Do not call my son a brat. Out right now, or I'll banish you from my bed for another century."

"Fine, fine, I'm going. Pushy bitch." He ducked out the door just in time to evade a pillow thrown at his head.

"Pig." Aphrodite muttered. "Why do I put up with him, again?" She shrugged, turning to the pool of water displaying her favorite son. Not that she would tell her other sons that.

"Dear mother."

"Oh my baby, it's so good to hear from you again." She knew he couldn't actually hear her, but she liked pretending they were holding a proper conversation.

"I hope this message finds you well. I am as can be expected. But I have a gift for you. Proof of slaying the Minotaur." A horn appeared on a velvet cushion in front of her. "I hope you have some use of it."

"It's lovely, baby."

"And, as always, I hope you are not too disappointed with a son who cannot see the beauty of the world with his own eyes. Until next time, mother." He bowed to the hearth and walked away. Aphrodite sniffed, a few tears flowing down her beautiful face, clutching the horn tightly.

"Oh Naruto. My poor baby, mommy could never be disappointed with you.

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 **Ok, so I didn't actually read the books. I did watch the movie. The first one. And I know a lot about mythology. That should keep me covered. If not, I'll just wing it.**

 **It's late now, and the ideas for this story are all still in my head, so I won't be posting this until tomorrow, along with at least one more chapter. Now, I'm going to bed. Later.**


	2. Chapter 2

"About time you showed up." Clarisse grumbled when Naruto appeared at their regular sparring ground.

"My apologies, I didn't realize you were in such a hurry to lose. I'll try to be a bit more courteous next time."

"What did you say, you bastard." The girl's right eyebrow started to twitch.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I stuttered the first time." He had a calm smile on his face which seemed to infuriate the girl even more.

"Aright, that's it. You're going down." She readied her spear and ran at him full speed. With one swift move he brought his kopis from its sheath at his side and sidestepped her blind charge, knocking her spear out of her hand.

"Lesson number 11." He stated calmly, holding the blade next to her neck. "An opponent quick to anger is an opponent quick to defeat. Keep your calm." He helped her up, handing her the spear. "Again?"

"Yeah, again." She kicked him in the shin and jumped back, swinging the spear low. He jumped over the swing.

"Not bad, catch an opponent off guard." He ducked a high swipe aimed at his head. The spear changed direction mid-swing and angled downward, managing to graze his left arm.

"First blood." Clarisse grinned.

"Yes, I suppose so." The blonde swung his sword in a circle. "I think I've played with you long enough now. First to submission?"

"Deal. What's the bet?"

"Bet?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I think I can beat you this time, so I want something in return for all my hard work."

"Very well, what is it you want?"

"The sword."

"This old thing? It's hardly worth all that. But if you insist. And what will you offer in return?"

"I dunno." She shrugged. "Whatever the hell you want."

"My dear, such a bet is hardly to your advantage."

"If I lose." She jumped at him, swinging her spear. "I won't."

He ducked down, allowing her to pass above him, and grabbed the back of her spear with his spare hand, throwing it back, and her along with it. He then proceeded to run after her, grabbing her by the throat in mid-air and slamming her into the ground. She tried to reach her weapon, which flew out of her hand and a couple o finches away, but the feel of the blade on her jugular stopped her.

"Submit?" When she said nothing he applied a little pressure, giving her a small prick.

"Submit." She sighed.

"Thought so." He helped her up again.

"So what do you want?"

"Never mind, you can forget it."

"No. I made the bet; I'll follow through with everything."

"Noble." He nodded his head, scratching his chin in though. "Well, you currently have nothing I want, so let's label this as 'you'll owe me one'. Fair?" She nodded. "I can't see you, remember."

"Then how did you know I did anything?"

"I assumed."

"Big brother! Big brother!" A small girl with blonde pigtails wearing a pink Camp Half-blood shirt ran through the crowd gathered to watch the spar and up to Naruto.

"Lacy?" Naruto sheathed his sword and held the frightened girl in his arms. "What's wrong little one?"

"Drew and Silena are fighting again." This also caught the attention of the daughter of Ares, who was fastening her spear to the straps on her back.

"Where?"

"In front of the cabin." Naruto nodded and started running towards the conflict, followed closely by Clarisse.

"Do you know what about?" The little girl shook her head, whipping her pigtails around.

"I was inside when the fight started, and I ran to find you as soon as I heard the raised voices."

"Good job, kiddo." He stopped a few feet from the cabin and let her down. "Stay with Clarisse for now, ok?"

"Ok big brother." He chuckled, tapping the top of her head, and walked to the two arguing girls.

"Drew, you are going way out of line." A tall, pretty raven-haired girl with hazel eyes harshly told the other, equally tall and pretty, Asian girl. "Leave the younger campers alone. They aren't here to do your bidding."

"Of course they are hon." The other girl's voice was uncaring and arrogant. "Somebody this beautiful should always be looked after. Isn't that right, boys?" a group of boys behind her, ranging from early to late teens, from all over the camp, shouted in agreement.

"You are disgracing our mother's name!"

"It's you who's disgracing her name. Such an ugly image could belong only to someone who didn't pass the trials."

"What did you say to me?"

"You heard me, hon. No go hobble off into whatever hole you crawled out of." More and more people, both male and female, started converting to Drew's side, chanting against Silena. "And leave this to the pretty people. Namely me." She let out a snobbish laugh.

" _Assez!_ " Like magic, whatever hold Drew had over the other campers was broken instantly. Silena smiled when she recognized Naruto's voice. "You are not behaving like sisters should." He scolded the two. Silena looked down sadly, but Drew tried to keep her gaze up, and into Naruto's face.

"We're just having a friendly chat, hon."

" _Drew, je tu préviens._ I heard enough to understand what's going on. Silena, I'm disappointed in you. You do not have a shouting match with your sister in the middle of camp, for everyone to see."

"I'm sorry, brother." She apologized sadly.

"That's fine. Now go with Clarisse and take Lacy somewhere." She nodded and ran off to her best friend and youngest sister. "And as for you." Naruto turned his unseeing gaze to his other sister, making her fidget in place unconsciously. "We'll be having a little private talk." He glanced at the other campers who quickly got the message and scattered. " _Drew, tu ne l'utilisez charmeparler sur les alliés."_

" _Nous avons déjà parlé de ce, frère."_

" _Et nuns en parlerons à nouveau, jusqu'à ce que tu écoutez ce que je tu dit."_ She fidgeted under his intense gaze. _"Je vais laisser ce soit cette fois, mais je ne me laisse pas te prends à nouveau? Comprendre?"_

" _Mais frère, je…"_

" _Comprendre?"_

" _Oui, frère ainé."_

" _Bonne. Tu pouvez y aller maintenant."_ She nodded and left.

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Such a problem child. Mother, how am I to keep this family together if it keeps fighting me over it?" A soft breeze blew through the clearing, almost caressing his face. "I'll do the only thing I can, as always. I always thought it was the younger brother that plaid the peacekeeper. Oh well." He sighed again, turning around. "Now where did those three run off to?"

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He found them half an hour later, playing by the river. He sat down beneath one of the nearby trees, next to Clarisse, listening to Silena and Lacy run around in the shallow water.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Can I… ask you something?"

"You already did. But go ahead."

"Are you seeing someone?" She asked nervously.

"I see precisely no one, as you should well know."

"Look bub, this took a lot of courage, so the least you could do is answer me straight. Got it?" She growled at him.

"Very well, ruin my fun. No, I am not."

"Are you thinking about seeing someone?"

"Clarisse…" Naruto sighed.

"Because Silena thinks you need a girlfriend, and I think so too. And I know you can't find one on your own. So I'd be willing to… well, I'd…"

"Look, Clarisse… I know. How you feel about me." She looked away. "But you should find someone more worthy of your affection. I couldn't make a good boyfriend."

"And what if there's no one else worthy enough?"

"Clarisse, I don't even know what you look like. How could I…"

"No, it's fine. You don't have to give me excuses." She got up, dusting her pants. "I'm sorry for bothering you with this." Her voice quivered a little. "Any chance on joining my team for Capture the Flag?"

"You know I won't be playing."

"Can't blame a girl for trying. I'll see you later." She ran off.

"Ah dammit." Naruto sighed sadly.

"I take it that didn't go too well?" Silena sat next to him, with a confused Lacy,

"You pushed her to this."

"I did no such thing. I simply convinced her that she'd be better off telling you."

" _Menteur._ At least now she'll know I'm no good, and she can move on." He stood up. "I'll see you back at the cabin."

"Oh brother…" Silena watched him g, concerned.

"Silena, what's wrong with big brother?" Lacy asked.

"You'll understand in a few years, kiddo. Now let's go."

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"My poor baby." Aphrodite muttered sadly, watching Naruto's interaction with the girl that was head over heels for him. "When are you going to stop with this?" She glanced in the direction of Zeus's temple. "I really wish I could meet you. I'd help you with all your problems, honey."

"It's refreshing to see you act like a mother, Aphrodite."

"Hestia?" The young-looking girl, and Goddess of the Hearth, walked into Aphrodite's temple. She was one of the very few gods on Olympus that would treat Aphrodite like more than just another pretty face. "What am I going to do?"

"There is nothing you can do." She put a comforting hand on Aphrodite's shoulder. "As long as brother's rules are in place, you can only watch." She gave the Goddess of Love a hug. "It will be difficult, but you will pull through. And I will help you."

"Thanks, Tia." Aphrodite returned the hug, keeping an eye on her son's calm, even face.

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 _ **Assez – enough**_

 _ **Je tu… - I'm warning you**_

 _ **tu ne… - Drew, you do not use the charmspeak on allies.**_

 _ **Nous avons… - We have already talked about this, brother.**_

 _ **Et nuns… - And we'll talk about it again, until you listen to what I'm telling you.**_

 _ **Je vais… - I'll let it be this time, but don't let me catch you again.**_

 _ **Comprendre – understand**_

 _ **Mais… - But brother, I…**_

 _ **Oui… - Yes big brother.**_

 _ **Bonne… - Good. You can go now.**_

 _ **Menteur – liar**_

 _ **Fair warning, the only French I know on my own is 'eat' and 'sleep', so I'm using Google Translate.**_

 _ **I'm also thinking about getting Aphrodite and Hestia together somewhere along the line, so I'd like to hear thoughts on that. They won't change my mind, but I'd like to hear them.**_

 _ **And no, she won't end up with Naruto's father and no, it isn't Minato. That'll be a secret until later chapters, around the end of the book (if I remember correctly there's a fight with Ares). All I will say is I based the title on both his parents. And no, it's not him either.**_


End file.
